🚨 Please note: BikePortland is currently on hiatus and only publishing guest articles. Learn more here. Thank you. - Jonathan 🙏
[Photo from Flickr: bublynski] There was interesting story in Sunday’s Oregonian about a rise in motorcycle fatalities in Oregon. The headline read, “Beware the thrill of the open road” and as I read it I couldn’t help but think how motorcyclists and bicyclists share common concerns and experiences.
After a long search, the BTA has finally found a new home. Their current digs (at SW 12th and Morrison) are cozy but cramped and the new space (at 1979 SW 5th) will give the growing BTA staff, “more space, private offices and better conference and work areas.” And, in true Portland fashion, they’re hoping … Read more
Judging from what I’ve read and heard recently, it seems like ODOT might actually be walking the walk in making an effort to improve their relationship with the bike community. First, I reported about Charles Sciscione’s desire to “make amends” with the bike community after the fallout surrounding the St. Johns Bridge. Then, this morning … Read more
Earlier this month, citizens, community groups, and city employees came together to raise awareness of traffic safety issues at the intersection of NW 9th and Lovejoy (more background here). I’ve published a report and photos at IShareTheRoad.com. IShareTheRoad.com is a new site I’m working on for the City of Portland as part of their ongoing … Read more
Dang. This is way late but the public hearing for SK Northwest is today at 1:30 at the Bureau of Development Services (1900 SW 4th Ave, 3rd floor). To refresh your memory, SK Northwest is the company that is in escrow on a property just south of OMSI on the riverfront. They want to be … Read more
The Oregonian reports this morning that the driver of the car that killed Gareth Parker last September has been sentenced to seven years in prison. Gareth was a passionate advocate and tireless volunteer in the Portland bike community. He was struck while riding his bike in Oregon City (here are details of the crash). For … Read more
On the Fremont Bridge during Sunday’s Bridge Pedal, PDOT wasn’t the only agency handing out something cool. TriMet bike guy Kiran Limaye (photo) was proudly passing out this awesome new sticker to promote “multi-modalism.” Kiran’s been up to all sorts of cool stuff to make TriMet more bikey. I hope to share more of them … Read more
[KATU’s coverage] In case you haven’t noticed, KATU (our local ABC-TV affiliate) has been doing some quality reporting on bicycle-related news stories lately. I can barely stand to watch most network TV news, but KATU reporters Anita Kissee-Wilder and Brian Barker are doing great work. As avid cyclists themselves, they bring a much-needed perspective and … Read more
[Traffic Division officer Ron Hoesly] Last week I joined Portland Police Bureau Traffic Division officer Ron Hoesly for a ride-along. Why go on a ride-along? First and foremost is my ongoing desire to build good, working relationships with the cops (especially the Traffic Division). Whether you like them or not, I think our experience as … Read more
[Click for full PDF, 2.1MB] Mark Ginsberg, lawyer in the Ayla Holland case, has just sent me the official transcript (PDF, 2.1MB) from her traffic court trial. It’s an interesting read. If you don’t get around to downloading the file, here’s the excerpt from the judge’s final decision: Judge Lowe: “The testimony here is that … Read more
[Click here to seethe rest of his display.] We have a lot of highways in Portland. Maybe too many of them. They require huge public subsidies to build and maintain, they break up neighborhoods, they promote sprawl, they encourage more driving and thus more pollution, they are the site of daily fatal crashes, and their … Read more
Citizen bike advocate Susan Otcenas just forwarded along an email response she got from Beaverton mayor Rob Drake. The email (full text is below) was also sent to several other citizens who had written Drake about their questions and concerns regarding the recent death of Mike Wilberding. Most notable is the mention that the “failure … Read more